Sec. 2. Findings
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Congress finds the following: There are an estimated 2,500,000 domestic workers across the United States working in the homes of people of the United States to provide home and personal care, child care, and house cleaning services. Domestic work makes all other work possible. It is work that cannot be outsourced to workers living outside of the United States, nor is it close to being automated. Without the millions of domestic workers caring for children, seniors, and individuals with disabilities, and cleaning homes, much of the economy would come to a standstill.
The employment of individuals in domestic service in households affects commerce as described in section 2(a) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 ( 29 U.S.C. 202(a) ). Domestic workers are hired or contacted for work by phone, mail, or Internet, or through newspaper ads, and travel to work through transportation on interstate highways, interstate transit, or vehicles in interstate commerce. In 2016, the Bureau of Labor Statistics predicted that between 2016 and 2026— the number of new jobs for home health and personal care aides will increase 41 percent, which is an increase of 1,200,000 jobs and the largest increase in new jobs of any occupational category during such period; and the number of new jobs for child care and house cleaning positions will increase 6 to 7 percent.
Nine out of ten domestic workers are women, and such women are disproportionately people of color and immigrants. Women, people of color, and immigrants have historically faced barriers to employment and economic advancement. Domestic workers face low wages and unacceptable working conditions. Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics indicates that the average wage for a domestic worker is approximately $11 per hour, or $23,000 per year if working full-time. In practice, the average wage for a domestic worker is less than such approximation given that domestic work has largely been negotiated in the informal labor market.
A landmark study of domestic workers published in 2012 by the National Domestic Workers Alliance and the Center for Urban Economic Development of the University of Illinois at Chicago Data Center titled Home Economics: The Invisible and Unregulated World of Domestic Work indicated poor working conditions across the domestic workers industry. The findings of such study included that— domestic workers have little control over their working conditions, and employment is usually arranged without a written contract; 35 percent of domestic workers interviewed reported that they worked long hours without breaks in the year immediately preceding the interview; 25 percent of live-in domestic workers had responsibilities that prevented them from getting at least 5 hours of uninterrupted sleep at night during the week immediately preceding the interview; and 91 percent of domestic workers interviewed who encountered problems with their working conditions in the year immediately preceding the interview did not complain about their working conditions because they were afraid they would lose their job.
The study described in paragraph
(8)found that domestic workers have little access to federally supported employment benefits. For instance: Less than 2 percent of such workers receive retirement or pension benefits, and less than 9 percent of such workers work for employers that collect payroll taxes on wages paid to such workers to provide eligibility for Social Security benefits. Sixty-five percent of such workers do not have health insurance, and only 4 percent of such workers receive employer-provided insurance, despite the fact that domestic work is hazardous and often results in illness or physical injuries. Compounding these challenges is the fact that many domestic workers have been, and in many cases continue to be, excluded from key provisions of labor and employment laws like the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 ( 29 U.S.C. 201 et seq.), the Occupational Health and Safety Act of 1970 ( 29 U.S.C. 651 et seq.), and the National Labor Relations Act ( 29 U.S.C. 151 et seq.). Minimum employee threshold rules, misclassification of domestic workers as independent contractors, and exclusion of independent contractors from coverage means that most domestic workers are also de facto excluded from Federal civil rights protections, including protections under title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 ( 29 U.S.C. 2000e et seq.) and other laws. The International Labour Organization’s Domestic Workers Convention, adopted in 2011, calls for domestic workers to have the right to freedom of association and collective actions, protections against harassment, privacy rights, and the right to be informed of conditions of employment. This Convention also calls for the right of domestic workers to keep their travel documents, the right to overtime compensation and rest breaks, the right to minimum wage coverage, the right to occupational safety and health protections, and mechanisms to pursue complaints and ensure compliance with the law. The unique nature of their work, in private homes with individuals and families, also often makes it difficult for domestic workers to use Federal programs and policies to improve their skills and training and to join together collectively to negotiate better pay and working conditions. Many domestic workers are also vulnerable to discrimination and sexual harassment. These issues are further exacerbated by the unique working conditions faced by domestic workers, such as isolation, poverty, immigration status, the lack of familiarity with the law and legal processes, limited networks for support, language barriers, and fear of retaliation and deportation. Millions of older individuals, individuals with disabilities, and families are increasingly relying on domestic workers. By bringing domestic work out of the shadows and creating incentives and investments that help raise wages and standards for domestic workers, the Federal Government can lift millions of the most vulnerable workers out of poverty, reduce turnover due to poor working conditions, thereby enhancing quality of care, and support the millions of working and retired people of the United States who rely on them.
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- 29 USC 2000e
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